United States v. Johnson, No. 15-30350 (9th Cir. 2017)
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A jury convicted Donald “Ski” Johnson of wire fraud. The district court sentenced Johnson to five years’ probation and ordered Johnson to pay $5,648.58 in restitution. On appeal, the government argued the district court erred by considering only Johnson’s fraudulent conduct that occurred in Montana (the count of conviction) when determining restitution, and thus misinterpreted the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (“MVRA”). After review, the Ninth Circuit agreed, vacated the district court’s restitution order and remanded for determination of whether Johnson’s conduct outside of Montana was related to
his scheme to defraud.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel vacated a restitution order on a government appeal in a case in which the defendant was convicted of wire fraud, and remanded. The panel held that under 18 U.S.C. § 3663A and Ninth Circuit precedent, the district court could properly order restitution for all victims harmed by the defendant’s scheme to defraud, including those harmed by conduct beyond the count of conviction, and that the district court’s conclusion to the contrary constituted an abuse of discretion. The panel remanded for the district court to make factual findings to determine whether the defendant’s activities beyond the count of conviction are sufficiently related to be included for restitution purposes in the defendant’s overall scheme to defraud.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 22, 2017.
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